China, US to hold trade talks next week

The Commerce Ministry last week said that Beijing was preparing to work with Washington to implement the broad consensus reached, referring to the agreement reached in Argentina between Xi and Trump. Officialsfrom both countries spoke on the phone Friday, it added.

Still, it will hardly be easy to bridge the complex differences between the world's top two economies. China'sShanghai Composite Index sank almost 25 per cent.

Last year, China and the U.S. imposed tariffs on more than $300bn (£237bn) worth of each other's goods.

White House economics adviser Kevin Hassett was in a chipper mood on Thursday as he predicted many companies will announce lower than expected earnings as a result of the trade war with China.

Jeffrey Gerrish, the USA deputy trade representative will lead the delegation travelling from Washington to China. The Dow was off 5.6 percent for the year, with the broader Standard & Poor's index of 500 stocks down 6.2 percent. Cutting a deal with Beijing could help at least reduce the threat.

Other drivers of USA growth, including government and business spending and net exports, are all sagging or expected to do so in coming months. But heavy government spending masked weakness in private-sector activity.

USA factory activity slowed more than expected in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), while Chinese data on Monday showed its manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in more than two years.

Auto sales in China plunged 16 per cent in November from a year earlier. That would expand US tariffs to nearly all of China's exports to the U.S. Those ambitions cut to the heart to China's drive to become the world's 21st century economic superpower.

"If we don't make a deal, then I'm going to put the $267 billion additional on", at a tariff rate of either 10 percent or 25 percent, Trump told the Journal.

Wendy Cutler, a former USA trade negotiator, said the US likely can't realistically settle for anything less than an agreement by Beijing to reform how it does business.

Those familiar said other United States attendees include Mr Gil Kaplan, Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade; Mr Ted McKinney, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs; and Ms Merry Lin, director for global and Asia economics at the National Security Council. "However, these reasons can only take you so far..."

Trump fires back at Romney
And last February, Trump endorsed Romney in the Utah Senate race, but not before reportedly urging Hatch to run for reelection. Romney should be helping President Trump, not trying out for CNN's next anti-Trump Republican talking head.

Roger Federer Differentiates Men and Women in Tennis
Roger Federer has 20 titles, a mark he reached in 2018. "You can see how focused she is and that's what I love about her". Serena Williams has sent tennis fans into a frenzy with a photo of her and daughter Olympia at the Hopman Cup .

Sarri Wants New Chelsea Striker After Draw With Southampton
Capping a forgettable game for Chelsea , Marcos Alonso had a strong penalty appeal turned down in the closing moments. Bakayoko is now on loan to Milan and the Italian club have an option to sign him for €35m at the end of the campaign.

13 of the Best Bird Box Memes
But the company has not released its box-office gross for the movie. "So it would have been the wrong decision". The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg isn't quite so positive.

Taiwan president defiant after China calls for reunification
Taiwan's leader has rejected the Chinese president's call for unification under a " one country, two systems " approach. While Taiwan is self-governed and de-facto independent, it has never formally declared independence from the mainland.